It is really an understatement saying that I was excited about the new Grand Theft Auto game, hell I’d even managed to stockpile every single Amazon voucher I had from last Christmas in anticipation of getting GTA5, and then last Tuesday it finally arrived. From my previous escapades in Red Dead Redemption with my online posse it was safe to say that the thing I was most excited about was playing online and most importantly the acrimonious resurrection of Team Sly, after all we hadn’t really terrorised Xbox Live since Liberty City as we had dwindling numbers by the time Red Dead was released. So here we go, online mode…oh wait…it hasn’t even been activated.

While remarking on the fact that Rockstar haven’t activated the online servers as deplorable is a politely as I could possibly put it, I cannot possibly fathom how withholding a key ingredient to the GTA experience until, what I understand, is a couple of weeks since release is ridiculous. I’ve spoken to many other gamers about this and while I’m told to be patient, lets be fair that I’ve been frigging patient since last December for this! It’s clearly an option in the pause menu, and while GTA4 made you wait until you’ve done a few missions before enabling online play, I’m about 30% through the main story still staring at the multiplayer option saying it’s not live yet.

I want to play online with my mates, is that so hard to understand? Huh?

So it got me thinking, what if something like FIFA 14, with it’s huge online following, or even corridor rail shooter Bored of Duty released a new game sans online multiplayer? It just wouldn’t happen! So why do GTA do this? It’s madness if you ask me. Sure in a few weeks after it’s released and me and my buddies have laid Los Santos to waste I’d be wondering what I was so pissed off about, but frankly having a GTA game, which many quarters are claiming is “the best game ever made”, I’m left wondering how disorganised Rockstar must be to have a huge component of the game not ready when it came out on September 17th.The trailer I watched on Xbox live for GTA Online looked amazing, so where the f*ck is it then?

To say I’m pissed off is a f*cking understatement.

I’ll review the game properly when I’ve finally blitzed through it, but considering that I’ve forked out for a game on it’s release date (which is very rare for me) to find it half delivered is extremely frustrating. I guess we’ll just have to wait for the most sought after online experience I’ve ever anticipated, and arguing that it’d encourage me to get into the single player campaign is moot, because it’s hardly as if I wasn’t going to play it! GTA5 is good, but where is the c*nting multiplayer?! Sort it out!